Craig Little picked as Lakewood Ranch High's new principal

Craig Little has been chosen as the next principal of Lakewood Ranch High School.

Superintendent Rick Mills chose Little after a community forum on Wednesday night. The other finalist for the job was David Marshall.

Little has been an assistant principal at Lakewood Ranch since 2010. He served as an assistant principal at Johnson Middle School from 2007-10, and as an assistant principal at Haile Middle School from 2005-07. Little was a physical education teacher at Lakewood Ranch from 2001-05.

Marshall joined Horizons Academy as assistant principal in January. He served as an assistant principal at Braden River High from 2009 until the end of 2013 and as an assistant principal at Lakewood Ranch High from 2006-09. Marshall was principal at Palm View Elementary from 2001-06.

Little will replace Linda Nesselhauf, who returned at the end of the year after a 38-year career. Nesselhauf also previously served as an assistant principal at Lakewood Ranch and Manatee high schools.

The district’s first appointment to the job has already turned down the position.

In June, Mills appointed Justin Terry, who served as director of academic and career connections in the Wylie Independent School District in Wylie, Texas, during the 2013-14 school year, to the Lakewood Ranch job. The school board approved the appointment at a school board meeting in June.

Terry notified the district the day after the board approval to say he would not be taking the job, and instead would stay in his current district, taking a promotion and a pay raise.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.